IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


m.  12.5 


■5.0 


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£f  K4    i 


2.2 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporalion 


23  WIST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4903 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVl/iCIVlH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  tachniques  at  bibliographiquas 


Thi 
tot 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


0 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagte 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pelliculAe 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 

Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  g6ographiques  en  couleur 


□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

I      I   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli4  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serr6e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouttes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  itait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  it6  filmtes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplimentaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  AtA  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  ^6thode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqufo  ci-dessous. 

□   Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

□    Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

r~n   Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 


i/ 


D 


Pages  restauries  et/ou  pelliculies 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d^colories,  tachet^es  ou  piqu6es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 


Thfl 
pos 
oft 
filn 


Ori 

bat 

the 

sioi 

oth 

firs 

sioi 

ori 


Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


I      I   Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Quality  inAgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppl^mentaire 


Tht 
sha 
TIN 
whi 

M« 
diff 
entj 
beg 
righ 
reqi 
met 


I — I    Only  edition  available/ 


Seule  Mition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  M  filmies  A  nouveau  de  fapon  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film4  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

y 

12X                           16X                           aOX                           24X                           28X                           32X 

^^ 

^^ 

^^ 

^^ 

^^ 

e 

fttails 
•  du 
lodifier 
r  une 
Image 


Th«  copy  filmed  her*  has  baan  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Univenity  of  Regina 


Tha  imagas  appearing  hara  ara  tha  baat  quality 
possibia  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  Icaeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specificationa. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illuatratad  impree- 
sion,  or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copiee  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impree- 
sion,  and  ending  on  the  iaat  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


IS 


L'exemplaire  filmi  fut  reprodult  grAce  A  la 
gAnirositA  de: 

University  of  Regina 


Les  imagas  suivantas  ont  iti  reproduitas  avec  la 
plus  grand  soin.  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
da  la  nattet*  de  raxamplaire  film*,  at  an 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Lea  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimte  sent  filmte  en  commandant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAre  page  qui  comporta  una  emprainte 
d'impression  ou  d'iliustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmte  en  commandant  par  la 
pramiAre  page  qui  comporta  una  ampreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'iliustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  darniAre  page  qui  comporta  una  telle 
ampreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  eac'.  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — ►  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  appliaa. 


Un  dee  symbolas  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darnlAre  image  da  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — »•  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


IMaps.  plates,  charta.  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  dtre 
filmte  A  des  taux  da  rMuction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmA  d  partir 
da  I'angia  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droits, 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nteessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m^thoda. 


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MOR 


Brueberfelb  ane 

Brueberbeim. 


MORAVIAN  SETTI/J$M^NT8 

OP  GERMAN  RUSSIANS 

IN  AI^B^RTA,  CANADA. 


EXTRACTS 


FKOM 


THE  BEPORT  OP  AN  OPPIOIAL  VISITATIOH, 

November  4  to  December  3, 1896, 


BY 


THE  EEV.  MOREIS  W.  LEIBERT. 


BETHLEHEM,  PA.: 
MORAVIAN  PUBLICATION  CONCERN. 


PREFATORY  NOTB. 


BR 


pXCEPTING  a  few  verbal  changes,  the  following  account 
^  is  identical  with  the  extracts  from  the  report  as  they 
originally  appeared. 

Breaks  in  the  narrative,  gaps  in  detail,  and  fragmentary 
form  are  owing  to  the  omission  in  type  of  purely  personal^ 
or  business,  or  problematical  matters  which  were  submitted 
in  the  complete  manuscript,  and  of  still  other  facts  and 
incidents  that  could  be  conveyed  only  orally. 

First  and  last,  let  it  be  understood  that,  all  other  condi- 
tions being  favorable  and  fulfilled,  the  key  to  the  situation— 
the  one  essential  to  be  complied  with— is  controlled  colo- 
nization. 

Published  by  order  of  the  Provincial  Elders'  Conference, 
and  of  the  Provincial  Board  of  Church  Extension,  contain- 
ing their  action  in  the  case,  and  supplemented  with  their 
call  for  support,  these  pages,  which,  had  time  permitted, 
might  have  been  tenfold  more  voluminous,  bear  no  private 
impress  merely,  but  have  official  character. 

The  object  of  the  pamphlet  is  to  furnish  the  information 

and  to  awaken  the  interest,  which  are  required  to  secure 

means  with  which  to  prosecute  this  effort,  and  to  unite  the 

prayers  of  the  Church  for  the  guidance  of  the  enterprise 

t-o  a  successful  issue. 

M.  w.  L. 


A' 

Elde 

Chui 

collet 

ing  r 

4th  0 

recen 

berta 

sonal 

ofth( 

to  in^ 

most 

peels 

offere 

was  r 

case. 

these, 

five  a 

travel 

officia 

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tion  o 

closin 


BRUEDERFELD  AND  BRUEDERHHIM. 


Bcount 
B  they 

entary 
raonal^ 
mitted 
ts  and 

condi- 
Eition— 
d  colo- 

erenoe, 
antain- 
1  their 
nitted, 
private 

[nation 

secure 

Lite  the 

«rprise 

w.  L. 


At  the  request  of  my  colleagues  in  the  Provincial 
Elders'  Conference  and  in  the  Provincial  Board  of 
Church  Extension,  and  with  the  cordial  assent  of  my 
colleague  in  the  pastorate — my  kind  associates  assum- 
ing routine  duties  reluctantly  dropped — I  set  out  on  the 
4th  of  November,  1895,  for  an  official  inspection  of  our 
recently  organized  work  in  the  Edmonton  district,  Al- 
berta, Western  Canada.  It  was  felt,  not  only,  that  per- 
sonal acquaintance  was  requisite  for  an  intelligent  control 
of  the  course  of  affairs  there,  it  was  deemed  wise,  also, 
to  investigate  matters  at  a  season  which  would  give  the 
most  correct  idea  of  actual  conditions,  of  present  pros- 
pects and  of  possible  demands.  The  item  of  expense 
offered  a  serious  drawback,  but  on  mature  deliberation 
was  regarded  as  fully  warranted  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
case.  Thirty  days  were  given  to  the  visitation ;  of 
these,  three  were  spent  at  Winnipeg,  two  at  Edmonton, 
five  at  Bruederfeld,  five  at  Bruederheim,  and  fifteen  in 
travel.  Ten  interviews  were  had  with  Government 
officials,  eight  board  meetings  and  church  councils 
and  ten  public  religious  services  were  held,  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Holy  Communion,  at  each  place,  being  the 
closing  occasion,  and  thirty  calls  upon  members  were 


made.  Going,  the  route  led  by  way  of  Montreal ;  re- 
turning, it  lay  through  St.  Paul.  The  entire  distance 
covered  was  5,855  miles. 


The  problem  submitted  for  solution  contained  several 
factors.  The  first  was  this :  Here  is  a  stream  of  Ger- 
man emigration  proceeding  from  Russian  territory,  set- 
tling on  Canadian  soil,  claiming  the  brotherhood  of 
the  Moravian  Church  in  the  United  States — what  rela- 
tionship, holding  in  ecclesiastical  and  international  law, 
can  be  established  between  us  ?  The  second  was  this : 
These  colonists,  relinquishing  their  homes  because  of 
their  attachment  to  the  Moravian  Church,  many  of 
them  assisted  by  the  Dominion  Government  and  by 
Transportation  Companies  because  of  their  Moravian 
name,  some  reaching  their  free  farms  empty-handed 
and  as  Moravians  becoming  objects  of  charity  among 
other  denominations — what  obligations,  as  members  of 
the  same  household  of  faith,  rest  upon  us?  A  third 
was  this :  Our  Church  authorities  having  long  corres- 
ponded with  them,  counseled  them,  recognized  them, 
approved  of  their  organization,  received  their  signa- 
tures to  sanctioned  rules  and  regulations,  could  now 
not  ignore  or  disregard  them,  nor  could  they  allow  them 
without  knowledge  of  their  characters,  motives,  ability  or 
loyalty  to  drift  into  the  fold  hap-hazard,  expend  money 
in  their  behalf  at  random,  and  after  the  lapse  of  perhaps 
a  decade  realize  that  the  project  was  ill  advised,  and 
ought  to  be  abandoned,  if  only  such  a  thing  were  pos- 
sible— what  definite  action,  what  decisive  step  shall 
now  be  taken  by  our  Boards  ?   And  a  fourth  was  this : 


up 
this 


What  reasoDS  exist  in  Russia  for  this  emigration,  and 
is  it  likely  to  continue  or  to  increase?  What  induce- 
ments in  Canada  are  attracting  the  current  of  coloniza- 
tion thither,  and  are  they  sound  and  permanent  ?  What 
forces  have  guided  the  movement  hitherto — and  what 
power  shall  direct  events  hereafter  ? 

Let  us  find  answers  to  these  latter  questions,  before 
we  enter  upon  an  examination  of  the  earlier  queries. 


More  than  a  century  ago  there  began  to  flow  from 
Germany  to  Poland,  out  of  sections  of  country  long 
inhabited  and  over-peopled  into  a  region  whose  name 
indicates  its  special  fitness  for  agriculture,  a  tide  of  emi- 
gration encouraged  by  concessions  as  liberal  as  it  lay 
within  the  power  of  papist  princes  to  grant  to  Prot- 
estant peasants.  In  turn,  and  for  like  reasons,  under 
the  advocacy  of  adherents  of  the  Greek  Church,  but 
more  especially  after  the  abolition  of  serfdom  which  left 
vast  tracts  without  laborers,  a  similar  movement  set  in 
from  the  crowded  portions  of  Russian  Poland  toward 
its  neighboring,  heavily  timbered  Province  of  Volhynia 
— a  word  implying  the  prosperity  of  its  people.  Land 
which  owing  to  political  misfortunes  had  been  lying 
there  untilled  for  generations  was  leased  to  these  Ger- 
man colonists  from  Poland  at  advantageous  rates  on 
twelve  year  terms.  Populous  villages  speedily  sprang 
up  where  forests  had  stood,  and  immense  sections  of 
this  Russian  Province  became  almost  exclusively  Ger- 
man. At  the  expiration  of  the  first  twelve  years,  the 
leases  for  lands  brought  under  cultivation  and  improv- 
ed, and  containing  the  results  of  the  settlers^  thrift,  were 


6 


!■ 


renewable  at  a  smart  advance,  with  prospects  for  pur- 
chase still  in  view.  The  course  of  colonization  from 
Poland,  Prussia  and  Silesia  ctmtinued,  and  with  the 
increased  agricultural  population  there  arose  a  demand 
for  mechanics  and  artisans  and  for  the  establishment  of 
industries.  This  drew  into  the  on-flowing,  ever-widen- 
ing current  members  of  the  Moravian  Diaspora  in  those 
countries  whence  the  exodus  was  proceeding. 

About  1815  spiritual  experiences  were  made  by  many 
of  the  German  colonists  in  Poland,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  several  earnest  workers  of  the  Moravian 
Church,  which  developed  into  a  deep  religious  awaken- 
ing. By  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  upon  the  devoted 
labors  of  several  consecrated  lay  brethren  a  revival 
of  the  inner  life  was  fostered  in  a  great  number  of  Ger- 
man towns  throughout  Poland,  from  which,  for  the  last 
thirty  years  or  more,  awakened  families  emigrated  to 
the  adjacent  district  of  Volhynia.  With  their  temporal 
belongings  and  worldly  goods,  they  took  also  their 
newness  of  life,  the  spiritual  aims  and  the  religious 
activities  to  which  they  had  become  habituated;  yet 
they  never  constituted,  while  settled  in  Volhynia,  a 
!r'^<Tular  charge  in  our  Diaspora  field.  But  as  in  Poland, 
oiH  of  the  original  Provinces  of  the  Moravian  Church, 
thei-e  were  several  centers  of  Diaspora  activity  under 
i (i (; ::  anagement  and  supervision  of  our  Church,  so  there 
arose  in  Volhynia  a  number  of  village  groups  in  which 
members  of  the  Diaspora,  engaged  in  secular  pursuits, 
but  under  no  official  appointment,  and  without  support 
of  either  Conference  or  Synod,  sought  to  infuse  that  life 
into  the  ossified  belief  of  their  countrymen,  which  by 


)r  pur- 
n  from 
'ith  the 
demand 
ment  of 
-widen- 
in  those 

y  many 

instru- 

!oravian 

iwaken- 

devoted 

revival 

of  Ger- 

the  last 

rated  to 

emporal 

io  their 

■eligious 

ed;  yet 

lynia,  a 

Poland, 

Church, 

under 

so  there 

n  which 

>ursuits, 

support 

that  life 

lich  by 


the  grace  of  God  had  been  implanted  in  them;  in  which 
laudable  and  singularly  successful  effort  they  were 
cheered  through  occasional  visits  by  leaders  of  the  Polish 
Diaspora  work. 

With  the  increase  of  the  number  benefited,  with  the 
growth  of  the  groups,  with  the  introduction  of  regular 
meetings,  with  the  circulation  of  Moravian  literature 
and  with  the  establishment  of  the  Moravian  type  of  life 
and  character,  came  dissatisfaction  with  their  merely 
nominal  church  membership,  and  the  desire  to  form 
congregations  of  the  Moravian  Church.  This  resulted, 
in  1884,  in  the  formal  severance  of  a  large  number  ot 
families  from  the  German  Established  Church,  and  their 
organization  into  two  Moravian  congregations ;  one  at 
Kremenka,  the  other  at  Schadura.  The  machinations 
of  the  clergy  of  the  State  Church,  a  single  pastor  of 
which  in  that  country  frequently  has  sole  spiritual  super- 
vision of  from  40,000  to  60,000  souls,  soon  caused  the 
heavy  hand  of  the  Government  to  be  laid  on  the  churches, 
which  resulted  in  the  abandonment  of  the  first  named 
effort  after  a  few  months'  trial,  and  which  led  to  the 
emigration  to  Brazil  of  many  families  of  the  other,  in 
1886.  At  the  same  time,  inquiries  were  being  made  into 
the  possibility  of  colonizing  others  in  a  body  in  some 
part  of  the  United  States.     This  project  proved  futile. 

In  the  meanwhile,  too,  the  Russian  Government  was 
scheming  at  reducing  the  strength  of  the  German  popu- 
lation, for  reasons  purely  political.  Great  difficulties 
had  always  attended  the  purchase  by  German  colonists 
of  the  lands  cultivated  and  rendered  profitable  by  them. 
Now,  unless  the  Greek  faith  is  accepted  it  is  impossible 


8 


to  secure  title  to  any  real  estate.  Indeed,  upon  the 
expiration  of  his  twelve  year  lease,  a  German  may 
now  only  renew  it  after  adoption  of  the  Russian  religion. 
He  may  lease  in  some  distant  region,  thickly  wooded  and 
thinly  peopled,  he  may  settle  in  some  Asiatic  Pro- 
vince, or  emigrate  to  foreign  parts,  but  as  a  German, 
or  as  an  evangelical  Christian,  independent,  self-respect- 
ing, citizenship  in  Volhynia  expires  with  his  present 
twelve  years'  lease.  Political  plotting  and  religious 
bigotry  clashing  with  the  love  of  liberty  and  with  living 
faith  are  thus  seen  to  be  the  expelling  forces,  fomenting 
emigration.  All  history  teaches  that  a  reversal  need 
never  be  expected,  that  reconciliation  cannot  come. 
The  alternatives  presented  are  simply  these :  either 
degradation  or  emigration.  Our  interest  lies  with  those 
who  choose  the  latter. 

By  Governments  having  territory  to  develop,  by  cor- 
porations having  lands  to  sell,  by  companies  having 
passage  by  sail  or  rail  to  offer,  the  countries  of  Europe, 
crushed  by  the  heel  of  the  oppressor,  are  flooded  with 
that  peculiar  advertising  literature  which  puts  people 
on  the  move  in  one  or  another  direction.  England  is 
rivaling  the  United  States  in  its  tenders  of  free  farms 
and  low  fiares.  Thus  the  district  of  Alberta,  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  and  particularly  the  Edmonton 
region,  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  many  of  those  Mora- 
vian Germans  in  Russia  who  had  come  to  realize  that 
Volhynia  could  not  much  longer  remain  their  home. 
During  my  trip,  I  accumulated  a  satchelful  of  maps 
and  pamphlets,  documents  and  general  literature  bearing 


ton  the 
Bin  may 
eligion. 
ied  and 
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lal  need 
k  come. 
;  either 
th  those 


by  cor- 

having 

Europe, 

;d  with 

people 
rland  is 
e  farms 
in  the 
montou 
e  Mora- 
ize  that 

home, 
if  maps 
bearing 


9 

upon  the  district  visited;  as  I  traveled,  I  interviewed 
men  occupying  high  official  stations,  and  old  residents 
of  experience  and  intelligence.  My  investigation  led 
to  pleasant  acquaintance  and  profitable  conversation 
with  various  emigration  officers  of  the  Dominion  and 
of  the  Railway,  with  buyers  of  pelt  from  Indians  and 
trappers,  with  a  writer  for  the  Reviews,  a  gentleman 
of  wide  culture  and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  entire 
Hudson  Bay  territory,  with  Dr.  Bryce,  ex-President 
of  the  Manitoba  Presbyterian  College  and  of  the  Mani- 
toba Historical  Society,  who  has  been  a  resident  of  Win- 
nipeg from  the  time  that  it  had  400  people  to  the  pres- 
ent day  when  its  population  touches  4u,000,  with  the 
Rev.  G.  A.  Turk,  pastor  of  a  Methodist  church,  and 
other  ministers  who  have  had  years  of  contact  with 
colonists,  with  Mr.  T.  E.  Morden,  city  editor  of  the 
Manitoba  Free  Press,  who  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  once  Russian,  now  Alberta  Moravians, with 
Mr.  R.  A.  Ruttan,  Agent  of  Government  lands,  with  Mr. 
H.  H.  Smith,  Commissioner  of  all  Dominion  lands  west 
of  Ontario,  with  Mr.  L.  A.  Hamilton,  the  Land  Com- 
missioner of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and  with 
Governor  Mackintosh,  who  from  his  capital,  Regina, 
administers  the  affairs  of  the  enormous  North-West 
Territories  of  Canada,  lying  west  and  north  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  Manitoba — organized  by  partial  subdivision 
into  the  four  great  provisional  districts  of  Saskatchewan, 
Assiniboia,  Alberta  and  Athabasca — and  I  am  in  cor- 
respondence with  the  Department  of  the  Interior  at 
Ottawa.  My  visit  took  me  out  upon  the  fields,  across 
prairies  and  through  thicket  and  copse,  into  the  cabins 


10 


of  colonists  recently  arrived,  and  over  the  premises  of 
settlers  well  established.  It  is  from  sources  such  as 
these,  and  from  facts  obtained  through  personal  obser- 
vation, that  I  form  whatever  opinions  I  see  fit  to  express 
regarding  life  and  law  in  the  land  toward  which  a 
Moravian  tide  from  Volhynia  has  set. 

For  families  from  central  or  northern  Europe  who  are 
obliged  to  broak  up  their  homes  and  seek  new,  there  is 
neither  climate  nor  soil  in  America  which  will  suit  them 
better  than  that  of  Alberta.  For  people  coming  with 
reduced  resources,  there  is  no  section  which  contains  more 
favorable  conditions  for  beginning  fairly,  and  j>rogres8- 
ing  surely,  and  prospering  permanently,  than  that  fertile 
belt  which  extends,  in  irregular  lines,  Eorthwest  from 
the  Red  River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  three  hundred 
miles  wide  and  a  thousand  miles  long.  Lying  altogether 
within  these  borders.  Alberta  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
latitude  55.7,  on  tbesouth  by  a  part  of  Montana,  on  the  west 
by  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  120tb 
degree  longitude.  It  extends  east  and  west  some  300 
milea,  north  and  south  some  500  miles.  It  includes  within 
its  107,700  square  miles  a  great  variety  of  forest  and 
stream,  of  grazing  and  agricultural  land.  In  it  are  com- 
prised some  46,000,000  acres  of  the  most  productive 
soil  on  the  continent  and  some  of  America's  best  deposits 
of  coal,  minerals  and  petroleum. 

To  most  persons  outside  of  it  this  district  is  nearly 
if  not  altogether  synonymous  with  our  traditional  no- 
tions about  Alaska  or  Siberia,  while  the  fact  of  the 
matter  is  that  its  geological  formation  and  its  geograph- 
ical location  are  such  that,  although  during  the  Winter 


11 


aises  of 
such  as 
[  obser- 
express 
vhich  a 

who  are 
there  is 
lit  them 
ig  with 
ns  more 
rogreas- 
it  fertile 
ist  from 
bundred 
together 
lorth  by 
the  west 
e  120th 
)me  300 
IS  within 
rest  and 
are  com- 
oductive 
deposits 

8  nearly 
onal  no- 
t  of  the 
iograph- 
Winter 


30°  below  zero  (Fahr.)  was  once  reached,  November  28, 
1883,  the  cold  is  not  severely  felt  on  account  of  the 
dryness  of  the  atmosphere,  and  whenever  the  tempera- 
ture is  low,  great  calms  prevail,  and  blizzards  are  not 
known.  By  the  10th  of  April  the  days  are  warm  and 
bright,  and  seeding  is  well  under  way.  By  the  10th  of 
May  growth  commences  vigorously  and  continues  with 
great  rapidity.  Haying  begins  about  the  middle  of 
July,  and  harvest  about  the  end  of  August.  On  the 
high  lands  frosts  are  not  experienced  until  the  middle 
of  September ;  in  the  valleys  or  flats  they  may  be  ex- 
pected a  week  or  two  earlier;  but  they  are  local,  and  do 
not  disturb  the  older  settlers.  During  May  there  is  no 
rain.  June  and  July  are  showery.  Summer  weather 
corresponds  to  that  in  the  State  of  New  York.  August, 
September  and  October  are  dry  months,  giving  every 
opportunity  for  fall  ploughing  and  other  outdoor  occu- 
pation. The  rainfall  in  Summer  is  plentiful.  The 
snowfall  in  Winter  is  light.  Snow  flurries  come  in 
the  middle  of  November.  Sleighing  is  seldom  good 
until  December.  The  winter  months  are  most  enjoy- 
able. There  are  few  days  when  the  farmer  needs  to 
muffle  up  inconveniently.  The  climate  is  most  health- 
ful. No  disease  peculiar  to  the  country  is  known.  The 
death  rate  is  exceedingly  low. 

The  soil  is  generally  a  jet  black,  sandy  loam  two 
to  three  feet  in  depth,  with  a  subsoil  of  marly  clay. 
Wheat  threshes  from  40  to  45,  oats  from  75  to  100, 
barley  from  50  to  70  bushels  to  the  acre ;  and  400  to 
600  bushels  of  potatoes  are  readily  yielded  by  the  acre 
— other  root  crops  correspondingly.     Cattle  and  colts 


12 


i 


roam  without  shelter  for  weeks  during  the  Winter. 
Grazing  is  good  the  year  round.  Wood  for  building  and 
fuel  abounds.  Soft  coal  is  dug  along  many  of  the  river 
banks  and  ridges  Water  may  be  found  anywhere  at  a 
depth  of  from  eight  to  thirty  feet.  As  the  Summer  and 
Fall  advance  a  rapid  succession  of  wild  flowers,  and  a 
great  variety  of  berries  and  of  game,  add  beauty  to  the 
prairie  and  furnish  delicacies  for  the  table. 

Taxes  are  scarcely  felt.  There  is  no  obstacle  to  pros- 
perity. There  is  no  oppression  of  the  poor.  The  ap- 
pearance of  the  country,  as  you  traverse  it,  is  that  of  a 
natural  park.  Yet  it  is  no  paradise.  Still,  if  people 
must  leave  their  present  homes  and  seek  others,  there 
is  no  land  where  hard  work  and  intelligent  attention 
to  conditions  will  sooner  secure  a  comfortable  living, 
and  in  process  of  time  a  competence,  than  the  district 
of  Alberta.  All  this  is  attested  by  the  carloads  of  set- 
tlers constantly  coming  over  from  the  States,  and  by  the 
shiploads  of  colonists  steadily  streaming  in  from  Europe. 
The  trial  of  the  territory  is  completed.  There  is  no 
longer  any  question  as  to  its  suitability  for  successful 
mixed  farming  and  its  accompanying  prosperity.  For 
the  intending  emigrant,  the  question  to  decide  is  now 
only  one  of  precedence  in  occupancy,  of  still  securing 
favorable  terms,  and  of  locating  most  advantageously. 

Individual  influence  alone  has  hitherto  been  advoca- 
ting the  emigration  of  our  brethren  from  Volhynia 
to  Alberta.  Uncertainty  and  hesitancy,  indecision  and 
hopelessness,  have  mingled  with  the  urgent  invitations 
sent  out  to  those  who  have  nothing  yonder  to  keep 
them  and  here  everything  to  draw  them.     If,  then,  it 


13 


Winter, 
ling  and 
he  river 
lere  at  a 
mer  and 
B,  and  a 
y  to  the 

to  pros- 
The  ap- 
;hat  of  a 
f  people 
srs,  there 
attention 
e  living, 
5  district 
s  of  set- 
d  by  the 

Europe, 
ire  is  no 
uccessful 
ty.  For 
!  is  now 
securing 
eously. 

advoca- 
^olhynia 
sion  and 
ivitations 

to  keep 
',  then,  it 


is  imperative  to  leave  Russia  and  desirable  to  settle 
in  Canada,  the  project  must  henceforth  receive  the  recog- 
nition and  rnjoy  the  supervision  which  may  be  provided 
only  by  official  action. 

Having  thus  reached  the  field  which  is  being  entered, 
we  must  treat  of  the  initial*  experiences,  the  state  and 
the  prospects  of  those  who  have  transferred  their  homes, 
their  citizenship  and  their  church  thither. 

When,  early  in  1894,  word  was  had  in  Volhynia  that 
it  would  be  possible  to  secure  that  relief  and  that  chance 
for  which  they  longed  in  Alberta,  a  number  of  families 
prepared  to  dispose  of  their  possessions.  A  few  of  them 
had  titles  to  their  farms  and  buildings,  others  could 
sell  only  personal  belongings.  Ready  buyers  were 
waiting  to  be  approached.  The  accumulations  of  years 
of  toil  and  thrift  were  parted  with  at  a  shameful  sacri- 
fice. With  this  money  and  the  few  effects  that  would 
stand  them  in  good  stead  on  their  way  and  at  their 
destination,  the  long  journey  was  begun.  Some  traveled 
with  their  private  means,  others  with  borrowed  funds, 
and  others  still  with  the  aid  of  a  government  appropri- 
ation made  by  the  Dominion.  Several  days  by  stage, 
and  several  more  by  train,  were  spent  in  reaching  the 
seaport  of  Libau  on  the  Baltic,  four  hundred  miles 
distant  from  Zhitomir  in  Volhynia.  Thence  the  voy- 
age by  way  of  Liverpool  was  across  the  Atlantic  to 
Halifax. 

Disembarked,  a  startling  discovery  was  made.  Every 
one  found  himself  to  be  but  half  as  well  off  as  he  had 
imagined.     The  Russian  kopek  corresponds  in  size  and 


14 


value  to  our  cent,  the  smaller  silver  coin  is  likewise  of 
corresponding  form  and  worth.  The  ruble  is  a  coin  of 
the  weight  and  appearance  of  our  silver  dollar.  Leav- 
ing Volhynia  in  the  fancied  possession  of  $100,  or  $400, 
of  $1000  or  $4000,  which  sums  may  represent  the 
amounts,  far  below  the  real  value,  realized  from  the 
sale  of  their  properties,  the  emigrants,  when  they  had 
exchanged  their  money,  had  but  $50,  or  $200,  or  $600, 
or  $2000,  as  the  case  might  be,  and  yet  their  ruble  in 
Russia  had  penny  for  penny  the  purchasing  power  of 
the  dollar  in  America.  To  this  ugly  fact  is  owing  raudi 
of  that  tremendous  disappointment,  discouragement  and 
distress  which  prevailed  among  the  colonists  on  their 
journey  across  the  Dominion,  and  during  the  first  part 
of  their  stay  in  Alberta.  To  be  caught  in  the  crush 
created  by  such  circumstances,  combined,  possibly,  with 
emigration  ir  earlier  life  from  the  fatherland,  with  the 
endurance  of  a  decade  of  Polish  poverty,  with  the  sub- 
sequent experience  of  another  decade  of  Russian  rigor, 
succeeded  finally  by  immigration  to  an  entirely  foreign 
country,  all  this  is  not  conducive  to  any  surplus  of 
resources,  either  of  capital  or  energy.  About  one  half 
of  the  number  who  have  thus  far  come  could  buy  the 
land  they  preferred  and  begin  operations  at  least  par- 
tially equipped.  The  other  half  now  here,  arrived  upon 
the  scene  without  the  means  to  either  crop  their  land  or 
build  themselves  a  shelter.  Some  came  inadequately 
acquainted  with  the  necessities  and  requirements  of 
colonization  at  isolated  points,  others  came  with  vague 
ideas  of  assistance  from  the  powers  that  be,  while  many, 
of  course,  came  fully  prepared  for  the  struggle,  but  all 


15 


[ewise  of 
a  coin  of 
Leav- 
or  $400, 
sent  the 
from  the 
they  had 
or  $600, 
•  ruble  in 
power  of 
ing  niucli 
ment  and 

on  their 
first  part 
the  crush 
bly,  with 
,  with  the 
1  the  sub- 
ian  rigor, 
iy  foreign 
urplus  of 

one  half 
buy  the 
least  par- 
ived  upon 
lir  land  or 
idequately 
}men*s  of 
nth  vague 
lile  many, 
le,  but  all 


had  taken  the  step  without  the  knowledge  of  any  direct- 
ing Board  and  under  no  official  oversight  or  authorized 
leadership  whatsoever.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that 
the  connection  of  these  emigrants  with  the  Moravian 
Church  in  the  United  States  began,  and  it  was  for 
these  reasons,  and  others  growing  out  of  this  state  of 
aifairs,  that  the  intervention  of  our  Boards  was  sought 
and  an  investigation  inaugurated. 

^p  •f*  ^*  ^^  ^» 

Arrived  at  Edmonton,  Alberta,  the  center  of  the  region 
to  which  this  stream  of  colonization  has  turned  and  the 
field  calling  for  examination  was  placed  in  full  view.  Fort 
Edmonton,  one  of  the  old  Hudson's  Bay  trading  posts, 
around  which  a  fine  town,  Edmonton,  having  a  popula- 
tion of  1500,  has  grown  up,  lies  on  the  north  side  of  the 
North  Saskatchewan  River,  1 95  miles  north  of  Calgary 
on  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway — nearly  3000  miles 
from  Bethlehem.  A  branch  railroad,  completed  in  1891, 
brings  the  traveler  to  South  Edmonton,  not  yet  incorpo- 
rated, where  are  located  some  emigrant  houses,  and  other 
buildings  common  to  such  a  place.  The  Land  Office  for 
the  district  lies  across  the  river.  The  towns  are  situated 
on  bluffs  two  hundred  feet  high.  Between  them  in 
gracefully  sweeping  curves  winds  the  river,  clear  as  the 
blue  sky  overhead,  and  true  to  the  meaning  of  the 
word — swift  current — its  channel  a  thousand  feet  wide. 
Communication  in  Summer  is  by  ferries,  in  Winter  by 
the  ice  bridge.  During  the  winter  season  the  ice  runs 
swiftly  with  the  current,  and  the  ferries  can  not  be 
operated,  so  the  traveler  crosses  in  a  rowboat  handled 
by  a  lusty  oarsman.    South  Edmonton  lies  up  stream. 


16 

westwardly  from  Edmonton  proper.  The  two  townR 
are  three  miles  apart  on  the  roads  that  must  be  trav- 
ersed. Both  have  post  offices  and  banks,  hotels  and 
stores,  churches  and  schools,  mills  and  private  dwell- 
ings and  each  a  newspaper,  that  serve  to  dispel  all 
ideas  of  newness.  By  the  road  followed,  our  upper  settle- 
ment is  distant  from  South  Edmonton  in  a  northeasterly 
direction  about  48  miles,  while  the  lower  colony  is  distant 
from  South  Edmonton  in  a  southeasterly  direction  about 
5  miles ;  hence  the  distance  between  the  two,  Brueder- 
heim  the  more  northerly,  and  Bruederfeld  the  more 
southerly,  is  upwards  of  fifty  miles. 


Having  previously,  by  personal  inquiry,  located  the 
nearest  colony  of  Russian  Moravians  on  the  recently 
vacated  Indian  Reserve  Papaschase,  which  is  reached 
over  the  so-called  Hay  Lake  Trail,  I  was  conveyed 
thither,  together  with  my  luggage,  on  Wednesday,  the 
It^th  of  November.  As  we  jogged  and  jolted  along  on 
the  farm  wagon,  following  the  windings  of  the  trail,  now 
over  its  smoothly  worn  old  ruts,  and  again  through  some 
stretch  of  stumps  and  corduroy,  closed  around  at  times 
by  forest  and  underbrush  and  a  moment  later  out  upon 
the  open  prairie,  It  was  evident  from  the  free  and  unre- 
served conversation  carried  on  with  the  brethren  who 
escorted  me,  that,  though  the  trials  and  hardships  and 
self-denials  were  not  forgotten  nor  altogether  overcome, 
so  far  as  things  temporal  were  concerned  the  brethren 
in  this  section  had  passed  through  the  critical  period, 
but  that  they  were  by  no  means  satisfied  with  present 
provisions   for  the  soul  life,  nor   with  their  prospects 


17 


3   tOWDA 

oe  trav- 
tels  and 
5  dwell- 
spel  all 
Br  settle- 
leasterly 
8  distant 
)n  about 
irueder- 
be  more 


ated  the 
recently 
reached 
sonveyed 
day,  the 
ilong  on 
pail,  now 
igh  some 
at  times 
3ut  upon 
nd  unre- 
iren  who 
lips  and 
vercome, 
brethren 
1  period, 
present 
prospects 


of  church  connection.  These  latter  had  furnished  them 
the  motive  for  forsaking  old  associations,  seeking  homes 
distant  from  their  own  a  third  of  the  globe's  circumfer- 
ence. Their  willingness  at  middle  life  to  begin  anew 
the  struggle  for  that  material  bread  which  no  man  can 
do  without,  was  based  entirely  on  their  hunger  for  that 
spiritual  bread  which  alone  can  satisfy  forever.  There 
is  good  land  for  the  plough,  and  they  know  that 
abundant  harvests  will  reward  their  manual  labor,  but 
there  is  also  a  deep  soul  soil — and  it  is  to  this  that  atten- 
tion is  being  paid  by  various  denominations.  At  present 
services  are  few,  but  representatives  are  on  the  ground, 
ready  to  take  what  they  can  get,  laying  the  foundations 
for  the  day  when  the  City  of  Edmonton  will  be  populous, 
and  the  adjacent  country  prosperous.  The  question  is 
now  awaiting  our  answer:  Shall  we  proceed  with  the 
work  we  have  begun,  shall  we  organize  and  develop  our 
own,''our  own  not  by  birth,  but  by  choice,  and  by  choice 
made  at  a  sacrifice,  and  establish  here  a  center  of  Mora- 
vian Church  life  and  activity  ?  In  all  my  stay  and  work 
at  Bruederfeld,  I  observed  that  the  single  query  calling 
for  reply,  which  the  people  wish  disposed  of  before 
proceeding  with  the  development  of  their  farms,  and 
with  the  culture  of  their  religious  life,  is :  Shall  we  have, 
as  we  supposed  we  should  when  we  sold  our  humble 
but  well-ordered  European  homes  and  came  into  this 
waste  place,  shall  we  have  here  a  real  Moravian  congre- 
gation, and  a  real  Moravian  minister  ?  So  privileged, 
we  shall  forge  forward  with  strong  hope;  disappointed 
in  this,  we  must  drudge  on  hopelessly. 


Ill 


18 

The  congregation  at  Bruederfeld  was  organized  June 
27,  1 896.  A  set  of  rules,  sanctioned  by  the  Provincial 
Elders*  Conference,  were  on  that  day  signed  and  officers 
elected,  as  the  official  recoi'ds  show.  In  order  to  become 
thoroughly  acquainted  wherever  time  permitted  me  to 


go. 


I   visited  fifteen   families  in   their   homes.     Four 


business  meetings  with  the  official  brethren  and  with 
the  congregation  were  held,  and  five  religious  services 
were  conducted,  the  latter  on  Thursday  and  Saturday 
evenings,  and  on  Sunday  morning,  afternoon  and  even- 
ing. Our  brethren  at  Bruederfeld  at  this  time  number 
about  twenty  families,  50  communicants  and  100  souls. 
Each  family  is  settled  on  a  quarter  section,  i.  e.,  160 
acres  of  choice  land  purchased  at  an  average  of  $3.25 
per  acre,  payable  in  ten  annual  installments.  They  are 
compactly  located  on  adjoining  farms ;  each  half  a  mile 
square,  or  two  miles  around ;  thus  bei  jg  separated  only 
by  their  own  intervening  fields,  and  yet  all  the  way 
from  half  a  mile  to  five  miles  apart. 

When  first  meeting  these  brethren  and  sisters  amid 
those  surroundings  and  occupations  that  everywhere 
characterize  the  early  settler's  life,  there  was  inevitably 
a  certain  diffidence,  then  a  brief  apology  foi*  appear- 
av'oes,  then  some  humorous  reference  to  the  plight  each 
had  succeeded  in  placing  himself  into,  then  a  simple, 
often  wondrously  strong  expression  of  Christian  faith 
and  confidence  in  their  Lord  and  Saviour  for  immediate 
wants  and  future  blessings — and  after  that  there  would 
follow  the  most  frank  and  cordial  converse  on  per- 
sonal matters,  as  also  on  the  congregation  in  process  of 


m 


I,    :;.l 


19 


ized  June 
Provincial 
ad  officers 
to  become 
ted  me  to 
es.  Four 
and  with 
IS  services 

Saturday 
and  even- 
ae  number 
100  souls. 
,  i.  e.,  160 
e  of  $3.25 

They  are 
lalf  a  mile 
irated  only 
11  the  way 


jisters  amid 
everywhere 
I  inevitably 
Foi*  appear- 
plight  each 
a  a  simple, 
'istian  faith 
r  immediate 
there  would 
pse  on  per- 
n  process  of 


formation.  None  could  close  their  eyes  to  the  fact  that 
ample  returns  had  rewarded  their  labors  since  their  set- 
tlement a  year  and  a  half,  a  year,  or  half  a  year  ago ; 
and  that  all  had  occasion  to  render  thanksgiving  unto  the 
Lord.  After  their  arrival  on  the  quarter  section  they 
had  severally  selected,  the  first  thing  that  had  to  be 
done  was  to  provide  temporary  shelter.  This  was 
quickly  accomplished  by  cutting  poles,  and  setting  them 
up  in  the  fashion  of  either  a  square  or  circular  tent, 
and  covering  this  frame  with  brush.  Some  of  these 
huts  still  remain.  By  their  side  now  stand  the  present 
dwellings  of  the  settlers,  cabins  built  of  logs,  either  of 
the  round  or  squared  trunk,  hewn  or  sawn,  as  the 
builder  had  time,  taste  or  tools,  the  crevices  chinked 
with  clay.  The  largest  dimensions  are  16x24  feet,  though 
not  a  few  are  but  12x14  feet.  Some  of  them  have  a 
floor  and  ceiling  of  board,  cut  by  hand  from  the  spruce 
in  the  adjoining  woods ;  others  have  but  a  few  boards 
lying  loose,  others  have  clay,  and  still  others  the  plain 
earth  for  the  floor.  When  there  is  a  ceiling  it  is  barely 
high  enough  to  allow  one  to  stand  upright.  In  most 
cases  there  is  no  ceiling,  simply  the  roof  poles  running 
from  the  sides  to  a  slightly  higher  ridge  pole.  These 
were  covered  with  hay,  and  this  again  with  slabs  of  sod 
four  inches  thick,  or  with  reed  or  straw  thatch.  In  the 
center  of  most  of  these  cabins  there  is  a  shallow  board- 
covered  excavation  slightly  suggestive  of  a  grave ;  this 
answers  temporarily  the  purposes  of  a  cellar.  In  most 
of  the  cabins  there  are  but  two  windows,  in  many  only 
one,  each  window  less  than  two  feet  square.  Under- 
neath the  window  at  the  farthest  end  stands  a  table, 


20 


li> 


!r 


on  either  side  of  that,  in  the  corners,  are  the  bunks  or 
beds.  In  a  third  corner  there  is  room  for  a  stove,  along- 
side of  which  a  spinning  wheel  may  stand,  the  fourth 
being  reserved  for  the  door,  which  is  hung  on  wooden 
hinges  and  closed  with  a  wooden  latch,  with  the  tradi- 
tional latchstring  hanging  out.  Pulling  the  string  the 
latch  is  raised,  thumping  on  the  door  as  it  swings  into 
the  single  room,  the  visitor  is  in  the  presence  of  the 
occupants,  sometimes  two — sometimes  twelve.  In  many 
of  the  houses  there  are  no  chairs.  Stools  hewn  of  plank, 
a  wicker  trunk,  or  a  chest,  must  for  the  present  afford 
all  seating  accommodation.  On  the  walls  are  a  few 
nails  for  every-day  clothing,  for  a  few  of  the  most 
necessary  utensils,  and  a  rack  for  some  spoons  and 
knives  and  forks,  for  a  few  plates  and  cups  and  saucers. 
A'  rifle  may  rest  upon  the  rafters ;  a  flail,  or  some  other 
bit  of  half-finished,  home-made  article  for  use  on  the 
fields  or  in  the  house,  may  be  stowed  on  some  projecting 
beam  or  peg ;  a  lamp  and  a  pile  of  devotional  books 
may  find  lodgment  upon  the  other  window  ledge.  In 
many  instances  the  stable  communicates  directly  with 
the  cabin,  there  being  but  one  entrance  for  the  two. 
By  day  the  house  is  deserted.  All  are  at  work  upon 
the  fields,  cutting  sod,  burning  brush,  breaking  new 
land,  ploughing,  sowing,  reaping,  digging  wells,  build- 
ing additions  and  extensions,  cutting  timber  for  larger 
stables,  gathering  material  for  the  decent  house  whose 
site  and  whose  arrangement  are  all  in  the  mind  and  pur- 
pose of  the  settler,  where  he  will  presently  live  I 


Up  to  this  time  the  services  have  been  held  at  the 
home  of  a  brother  who  when  he  built  his  house  did  so 


21 


with  8uch  occasions  in  view.  He  is  a  fine  specimen 
of  the  better  class  of  thes'*  settlers,  an  intelligent, 
sturdy,  whole-souled,  energetic  man  of  sixty,  rejoicing  in 
fifteen  years'  experience  of  the  second  birth.  Betore  the 
hour  appointed  he  brings  from  out  of  doors  the  round 
blocks  and  the  rough  sawn  hemlock  planks  with  which 
seats  for  the  congregation  are  improvised.  One  by  one 
the  families  assemble.  After  an  hour  the  house  is  filled 
to  suffocation.  Every  seat  is  taken.  All  the  standing 
room  is  occupied.  As  they  cross  the  threshold,  the 
worshipers  fold  their  hands  and  bow  their  heads  in 
prayer.  Silently  the  moments  speed  until  all  who  may 
be  expected  are  orderly  arranged.  A  striking,  impres- 
sive sight  it  is.  Devotion,  expectation,  are  written  on 
every  feature.  The  men  are  huddled  in  a  heap  by 
themselves,  giving  the  better  places  to  the  mothers  and 
the  little  ones.  Remnants  of  Russian  robes  are  mingled 
with  the  prevailing  German  garb  in  picturesque  pro- 
fusion, lending  to  the  whole  an  aspect  at  once  outland- 
ish and  decorous.  Several  can  start  and  carry  a  tune. 
Members  of  a  scattered  trombone  choir,  twelve  men 
strong,  are  among  the  colonists.  A  tune  need  but  be 
indicated  by  its  number  and  the  proper  note  is  instantly 
struck.  All  sing.  They  do  it  heartily  and  correctly. 
Some  of  our  old  chorales  brought  cheer  to  the  hearts, 
and  tears  to  the  eyes  of  the  congregation  as  our  worship 
progressed.  And  then  there  prevailed  a  responsive 
touch,  that  grateful  receptivity  which  ever  appeals  to  the 
minister,  enabling  him  to  throw  himself  into  his  work 
more  wholly  than  can  ever  be  done  when  it  is  felt  that 
in  many  a  heart  there  is  not  hunger  but  hardness,  in 


4 


m 


If 


'i:f 


If 


22 

many  another  not  devoutness  but  formality,  and  in  many 
others  still  not  Christian  cordiality  but  cynical  criticism. 
Across  furrowed  fields  whose  pitchy  loam  vies  in  black- 
ness with  the  darkness  of  the  moonless,  starless  night, 
through  thickets  in  and  out  of  which  wind  the  old  In- 
dian footpaths,  over  new  roads  in  which  upturned  roots 
and  prostrate  trunks  interfere  sadly  with  safety  and  with 
speed,  come  the  brethren  and  sisters  with  their  children 
by  their  sides  and  with  their  babes  wrapped  in  shawls» 
They  are  impelled  to  attend  the  services  provided  through 
stated  lay  activity  or  chance  ministerial  visit,  by  the 
spirit  that  led  them  from  their  native  villages  in  a  fair 
and  dear  land — noble-ruined  and  priesl-ridden — loyalty 
to  that  Church  in  which  they  found  life  and  peace,  in 
which  they  seek  usefulness  and  holiness.  And  what 
are  these  people  willing  to  do,  what  can  they  do,  towards 
getting  what  was  the  one  purpose  of  their  emigration — 
a  Moravian  congregation  ? 

My  brethren,  I  went  to  these  people  on  whose  history 
and  condition  I  have  been  dwelling  so  long  for  religious 
and  business  purposes;  and  the  business  transacted, 
based  on  our  common  faith  and  aims,  proceeded  from 
several  propositions  that  were  made  after  a  great  mass 
of  information,  part  of  which  only  can  here  be  detailed, 
had  been  gathered.  These  people  are  keen  and  practi- 
cal, earnest  and  liberal.  After  careful  consideration,  and 
by  formal  vote,  they  agreed  that  should  the  Moravian 
Church  in  the  United  States  decide  to  continue  them 
in  its  connection  and  to  develop  the  work  in  their  behalf^ 
they  would  do  these  things : 


23 


Four  members  at  Briiedeifeld  will  give  five  acres  each 
at  the  point  where  their  farms  meet,  which  is  a  township 
cross-road  in  Townships  51  and  62,  on  Ranges  23  and  24, 
respectively;  on  which  the  congregation  will  erect  a 
church  and  a  parsonage,  chiefly  of  log,  to  be  completed 
in  the  Spring  of  1896,  and  in  connection  with  which  a 
cemetery,  a  grove  and  a  pasture  will  be  laid  out. 

The  members  will  buy  a  quarter  section,  a  farm  of 
160  acres,  which  will  be  cultivated  by  the  congregation 
to  raise  a  revenue  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the 
church  establishment. 

As  soon  as  competent  they  will  deed  the  entire  prop- 
erty, 180  acres,  with  all  improvements  they  may  make 
thereon  to  the  Moravian  Church  of  the  United  States. 

Realizing  the  necessity  of  numerical  strength  and  the 
desirability  of  immigrating  at  once  if  at  all,  they  will 
encourage  and  assist  to  the  utmost  extent  of  their  ability 
the  colonization  of  the  land  in  their  vicinity  by  their 
relatives  and  fellow  believers  in  Volhynia. 

They  express  themselves  as  desirous  of  living  out  to 
the  full  the  faith  and  practices  of  the  Moravian  Church, 
as  its  history,  synods  and  authorities  prescribe. 

They  changed  the  name  of  their  settlement  from 
Bruederthal  to  Bruederfeld,  in  order  to  avoid  confusion, 
and  will  enter  into  negotiations  with  the  Government 
for  the  establishment  among  them  of  a  Post  Office  by 
the  name  of  Bruederfeld. 

Having  secured  unanimous  and  enthusiastic  affirma- 
tions on  these  propositions,  the  opinion  was  ventured 
that  the  Provincial  Elders*  Conference  and  the  Board 
of  Church  Extension  would  not  only  in  all  likelihood 


24 

supply  them  with  a  pastor,  but  also  for  the  first  year 
mainly  provide  his  support. 

The  other  congregation,  Bruederheim,  organized  a 
month  earlier,  on  May  6,  1895,  was  reached  after  a 
day's  journey  by  farm  wagon  on  Tuesday,  November  19. 
The  route  taken  was  over  the  Victoria  Trail  which 
winds,  after  the  fashion  of  such  highways,  in  peculiarly 
pleasing  lines  through  and  around  the  copses,  up  the 
hillocks  and  down  the  hollows,  over  the  ridges  and  across 
the  prairie,  scarcely  ever  for  a  hundred  yards  ahead 
in  sight.  Much  of  the  land  on  either  side  is  held  by  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company  at  a  fixed  price, 
and  by  speculators  waiting  for  a  rise.  Homesteaders 
must  go  farther  from  terminal  towns,  and  away  from 
the  beaten  track.  There,  while  not  so  convenient,  the 
land  is  as  good,  and  the  prospects  are  as  fair  as  any- 
where. Small  game  is  plentiful  along  the  trail,  traces 
of  bear  and  deer  are  not  infrequent,  which  with  an 
occasional  glimpse  of  either  a  coyote  or  an  Indian  looking 
on  the  intruder  with  puzzled,  yet  harmless  mien,  im- 
presses a  person  with  a  lively  sense  of  the  frontier 
depths  to  which  his  journey  has  extended,  and  testifies 
to  the  silent  force  of  that  modern  migration  of  nations 
which  is  welding  the  diverse  races  of  the  old  world 
into  the  State  and  Church,  the  social  and  commercial 
life  of  the  new  world.  As  the  night  gathered  more 
densely  round  us,  it  became  an  entertaining  and  in- 
structive spectacle  to  watch  far  in  the  distance  ahead  or 
away  to  your  side  a  little  light,  oft  times  the  only 
possible  light  in  the  single  window  of  a  rude  log  cabin 


25 


first  year 


rani  zed   a 
id  after  a 
ember  19. 
[•ail  which 
peculiarly 
es,  up  the 
1  and  across 
irds  ahead 
tield  by  the 
ixed   price, 
)raesteaders 
away  from 
/enient,  the 
air  as  any- 
rail,  traces 


which,  out  of  sight  of  all  other  human  habitations,  was 
to  some  family  the  dearest  spot  on  earth,  and  that  served, 
like  lanterns  on  the  buoys  in  harbor  channels,  to  guide 
the  wayfarer  toward  his  home. 

We  came  upon  Bruederheim,  the  other  Moravian 
colony,  and  a  Post  Office,  eighteen  miles  beyond  Fort 
Saskatchewan,  the  northernmost  post  of  the  Canadian 
mounted  police.  The  membership,  some  twenty  families^ 
also  aggregating  50  communicants  and  about  100  souls, 
live  in  the  two  adjoining  Townships  56  and  56,  on  Range 
20,  each  on  a  quarter  section,  or  160  acres  of  land,  from 
half  a  mile  to  five  miles  apart.  These  brethren  have 
entered  as  homesteaders,  and  after  three  years*  residence 
and  cultivation  will  receive  full  title  deeds  to  their 
property.  The  families  were  nearly  all  visited  in  their 
homes.  It  required  thirty  miles  of  traveling,  to  call  on 
15  households.  Many  of  these  we  found  in  poorer 
circumstances  than  those  at  Bruederfeld.  Almost  all  of 
these  brethren  have  enjoyed  the  aid  of  the  Canadian  Gov- 
ernment. Their  present  surroundings  and  their  experi- 
ences are  of  the  same  sort  as  those  of  the  brethren  at 
Bruederfeld.  Impoverished  and  empty-handed,  through 
Russian  oppression,  they  came  prepared  to  undergo 
both  suffering  and  reverses,  but  trusting  eventually  to 
form  a  Moravian  congregation,  and  therein  to  worship 
their  Lord  in  the  manner  that  was  dear  to  their  hearts. 
Everywhere  the  one  lament  was  voiced  —  if  only  we  be 
not  cut  off  from  the  Moravian  Church,  if  only  we  may 
here  grow  into  such  a  congregation  as  we  once  thought 
within   our  reach  in  Volhynia,  when  the   bigotry  of 


26 


the  Church,  and  the  tyranny  of  the  State  crushed  out 
its  life.  For  the  sweet  ways  and  holy  joys,  for  the 
blissful  fellowship  and  the  spiritual  help  of  the  Breth- 
ren's Church,  we  came  hither.  We  pray  God  we  may 
not  be  doomed  to  disappointment  after  all  this  sacrifice, 
all  this  journey,  and  all  this  hardship.  As  al  Brueder- 
feld,  so  five  services  were  held  at  Bruederheim,  on  Wed- 
nesday, Thursday,  and  Saturday  evenings  and  on  Sun- 
day morning  and  afternoon.  Four  meetings  with  the 
officials  and  the  membership  for  the  transaction  of  busi- 
k.ess  were  also  held.  Not  only  the  services,  the  obser- 
vations also,  the  experiences,  the  work  and  the  results 
had  at  the  settlement  first  visited  were  duplicated  at 
Bruederheim.  The  propositions  adopted  by  the  congre- 
gation at  Bruederfeld  were  communicated  and  most 
cordially  endorsed.  With  only  such  modificatigns  as 
their  circumstances  called  for,  the  membership  unani- 
mously agreed  to  the  same  things  their  brethren  had 
pledged.      That  is,  briefly  rehearsing  : 

The  members  at  Bruederheim  will  secure  the  forty 
acres  appropriated  by  Government  from  Homestead 
land  to  every  congregation  requestiqg  it,  for  the  uses  of  a 
church,  a  parsonage,  a  cemetery,  a  grove  and  a  pasture. 

They  will  erect  thereon  a  church  of  hewn  logs,  of 
such  size  and  style  as  shall  be  submitted  by  the  authori- 
ties— if  provided  with  those  things  which  they  have  not 
the  cash  to  purchase  —  such  as  hardware,  windows  and 
shingles. 

They  will  secure  a  quarter  section  of  land,  160  acres, 
place  it  under  cultivation  to  raise  a  revenue  for  the 
expenses  of  the  church  establishment,  and  as  soon  as 


com 

purf 

T 

prop 

into 

unan 

acqu£ 

strent 

Do 

that  1 

Extei 

for  on 

be  sec 

Thi, 

a  pers( 

friends 

to  com 

of  the 

experi€ 

those  { 

and  thi 

used  to 

advocat 

seem. 

a  few,  t 

nay,  nu 

which  i 

from  th 

churchei 

heads  a 


27 

competent  will  deed  all  property  intended  for  church 
purposes  to  the  proper  corporation. 

They  will  submit  to  whatever  arrangement  may  be 
proposed  for  their  direction,  and  for  their  development 
into  a  Moravian  congregation,  and  they  heartily  and 
unanimously  agret  to  foster  emigration  on  the  part  of 
acquaintances  and  others  with  a  view  insuring  numerical 
strength  and  permanence  for  their  organization. 

Doing  this,  it  was  intimated  to  them,  also,  as  likely 
that  the  Provincial  Elders'  Conference  and  the  Church 
Extension  Board  would  mainly  support  in  their  colony 
for  one  year  at  least  the  best  pastoral  supply  that  could 
be  secured. 

This  intimation  about  the  first  year's  support  is  merely 
a  personal  opinion.  It  has  no  official  value.  Should 
friends  of  Church  Extension  ask :  Where  are  the  means 
to  come  from  ?  I  answer :  Directly  from  the  pockets 
of  the  people  who  love  the  Lord.  If  the  sorrowful 
experience  is  impending  that  down  at  the  bottom  of 
those  pockets  there  is  no  more  money — not  a  cent — 
and  that  there  are  no  means  available  which  may  be 
used  to  enter  these  opened  doors,  then  I  am  prepared  to 
advocate  some  radical  measures— desperate,  they  may 
seem.  When  I  think  of  the  Home  Mission  fields,  not 
a  few,  that  we  have  been  cultivating  for  a  score  of  years, 
nay,  nursing  these  two  score  years,  when  I  recall  some 
which  for  years  on  years  have  been  drawing  support 
from  the  general  treasury  —  when  I  remember  some 
churches  having  a  voice  in  Synod  who  are  keeping  their 
heads  above  water  only   by   forcing   their   minister's 


it 


28 


under — when  I  reflect  upon  pastors  consecrated  to  the 
proclamation  of  Truth  who  will  sooner  request  a  change 
or  a  dismissal  than  assume  the  responsibility  of  testi- 
fying to  the  death  either  by  accident  or  murder  of  the 
charge  they  are  serving  —  I  tell  you,  ray  soul  waxes 
wroth  within  me.  The  Moravian  Church  is  not  slow 
to  enter  upon  new,  difficult,  expensive  work  —  on  the 
contrary  we  are  enterprising,  sometimes  daring,  even 
reckless  in  beginning  projects;  but  we  are  too  set  in 
the  face  of  failure;  we  are  stubbornly  disinclined  to 
acknowledge  mistakes.  We  are  not  ready  enough  to 
discern  a  blunder,  not  wise,  often  not  manly,  enough 
to  retire,  to  surrender,  when  we  are  played  out  or 
beaten,  when  we  stand  no  show,  or  are  not  wanted. 
We  mu^jt  abandon  thi^  dogged  perseverance.  We  must 
discard  the  fallacy  that  we  are  destined — though  we  act 
as  if  we  were  doomed — to  go  only  to  the  destitute,  or 
to  take  up  only  with  forlorn  hopes.  We  must  put 
ourselves  into  positions  in  which  we  may  both  grow 
larger  and  get  stronger,  that  we  may  do  greater  and 
better  things  in  the  Kingdom.  I  ask  you,  has  not  the 
day  come  to  discontinue  the  operations  which  are  yield- 
ing us  no  returns  and  to  find  and  furnish  fields  in 
which  we  have  a  living  chance  ?  Is  it  not  time  for  some 
one  to  act  as  church  coroner,  to  impanel  a  jury  and  to 
render  a  verdict  on  the  fact  and  cause  of  the  death  of 
some  congregations  whose  bodies  may  still  be  intact,  but 
whose  life  has  gone,  whose  spirit  has  flown  ?  If — if — 
the  Church  really  can  not  do  more  than  it  is  doing,  then 
— then — I  say,  let  us  have  a  funeral,  a  tearless  funeral, 
or  several,  somewhere,  and  soon.       Certainly  nothing^ 


V 


espec; 

shoul 

tory  \ 

there 

Canac 

of  th( 

Alber 

ment 

than 

strong 

sin,  or 

or  in 

Havinj 

mind  i 

colleag 

it  to  tl 

in  the  ] 

Coloniz 

with  M 

place  a 

work  t] 

on  the  ] 

Thee 
Morris 
Elders' 
Church 
visitatioi 
field   of 
Moravia] 
Canada, 


29 

especially  not  corpses  calling  for  an  inquest,  nothing 
should  prevent  the  Church  from  entering  upon  a  terri- 
tory where  it  is  yearned  for,  where  there  is  room,  where 
there  is  prospect.  Properly  cultivated,  I  see  in  these 
Canadian  colonies  the  nucleus  of  an  additional  district 
of  the  American  Moravian  Church,  I  would  call  it  the 
Alberta  District.  In  twenty-five  years,  for  the  settle- 
ment of  this  continent  is  proceeding  more  rapidly  now 
than  was  the  case  a  century  ago,  we  may  have  there  as 
strong  a  Moravian  center,  as  we  now  have  in  Wiscon- 
sin, or  in  Ohio,  or  in  New  York,  or  in  North  Carolina, 
or  in  Pennsylvania,  excepting  only  the  endowments. 
Having  spent  a  month  on  this  subject  exclusively,  my 
mind  is  made  up.  I  say  this,  and  I  say  it  to  my 
colleagues  in  office,  I  say  it  to  my  congregation,  I  say 
it  to  the  Provinces  of  the  Church  concerned,  I  say  it 
in  the  pulpit  and  in  the  papers,  publicly  and  privately : 
Colonize  along  the  valley  of  the  North  Saskatchewan 
with  Moravians  such  as  have  come  from  Volhyniaj 
place  an  energetic,  efficient  minister  in  charge  of  the 
work  there  at  once,  and  wait  on  the  Lord — wait,  I  say, 
on  the  Lord.     Wonders  will  be  wrought ! 

^  •P  ^  ^P  ^P  ini 

The  official  report  of  the  visit  to  Alberta  by  the  Rev. 
Morris  W.  Leibert  was  received  by  the  Provincial 
Elders'  Conference  and  by  the  Provincial  Board  of 
Church  Extension,  at  whose  request  this  important 
visitation  was  made,  on  December  7,  1895.  A  wide 
field  of  usefulness  and  activity  is  presented  to  the 
Moravian  Church  among  the  Volhynian  colonists  in 
Canada,  and  the  duty  of  endeavoring  to  develop  the 


30 


same  is  imperative.  In  accordance  with  previous  action 
taken  by  the  Boards  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted  on  December  10th  and  12th  by  the  Provincial 
Elders'  Conference  and  the  Provincial  Board  of  Church 
Extension : 

1.  Reaolvedf  That,  having  assumed  the  care  of  the 
Moravians  in  Alberta,  we  will  develop  the  work  as  a 
special  enterprise  of  the  American  Province  under  the 
following  regulations : 

a.  The  churches  organized  will  have  no  representation 
at  any  Synod  until  formally  accepted  as  congregations 
of  this  Province  by  the  next  Provincial  Synod,  to  which 
the  Provincial  Elders'  Conference  may  invite  their 
pastor,  if  such  action  be  justified  by  the  progress  of  the 
work; 

6.  Though  not  entitled,  as  yet,  to  the  same  privileges 
as  given  to  other  churches  of  this  Province,  they  accept 
the  decision  of  the  Provincial  Church  authorities  as 
binding  on  them,  and  require  every  iiew  member  to  sub- 
scribe to  the  Brotherly  Agreement  and  Lales  and  Regu- 
lations of  the  several  congregations,  as  has  been  done 
by  the  present  membership ; 

0.  The  members  of  these  churches  shall  faithfully  carry 
out  the  plan  agreed  upon  for  building  churches  and 
parsonages,  and  providing  and  cultivating  land  for  the 
support  of  their  church  establishment,  and  make  it  their 
aim  to  become  self-supporting  as  soon  as  possible ; 

d.  The  funds  needed  for  the  support  of  this  enter- 
prise shall  be  raised  by  special  solicitation  addressed  to 
our  churches  in  all  the  Provinces  of  the  Unity,  any 
surplus  over  and  above  the  assistance  required  by  the 
Alberta  congregations  being  used  to  enable  other 
needy  Moravians  in  Volhynia  to  join  their  brethren  in 
Canada ; 


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81 

e.  After  this  work  shall  have  become  self-supporting, 
any  balance  remaining  on  hand  shall  be  applied  to  the 
establishment  of  Moravian  churches  at  other  points  in 
the  Dominion  of  Canada,  or  donated  to  the  work  of 
Church  Extension  elsewhere. 

2.  Resolved,  That  a  pastor  be  appointed  to  the  charge 
of  the  work  in  Alberta  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  the 
Church  Extension  Board  will  advance  whatever  funds 
may  be  needed. 

3.  Resolved,  That  the  report  of  Bro.  Leibert's  visita- 
tion be  published  in  pamphlet  form,  and  be  distributed 
as  widely  as  possible,  with  the  action  of  the  Provincial 
Elders*  Conference  and  of  the  Board  of  Church  Exten- 
sion, as  also  a  brief  appeal  for  donations  appended. 


It  is  perfectly  plain  to  all  that  there  are  rather  too 
many  causes  in  the  Moravian  Church  clamoring  for  help. 
But  it  will  not  be  denied  that  the  claims  of  Bruederfeld 
and  Bruederheim,  in  Alberta,  at  this  time  presented,  can 
as  little  be  disregarded  as  they  might  have  been  hastened 
on,  or  as  they  may  be  deferred. 

Many  persons  are  laboring  under  obligations  which 
will  prevent  them,  willing  as  they  otherwise  are,  from 
lending  a  hand  in  this  work.  Others  may  be  able  to 
render  but  little  towards  its  support.  Yet  there  are  good 
people  enough  who  by  combining  their  resources  and 
placing  them  at  the  disposal  of  the  Provincial  Boards, 
which  have  taken  charge  of  this  enterprise,  will  make 
it  possible  to  begin  operations  forthwith. 

We  ask  all  who  see  the  advisability  of  seizing  the 
present  opportunity,  and  who  are  in  a  position  to  help 
this  cause  without  harm  to  other  objects,  to  be  both  lib- 


eral  and  prompt.  If  cheerful,  generous  givers  will  this 
year  by  special  effort  raise  two  thousand  dollars,  they 
will  provide  the  impetus  needed  for  beginning  this  new 
work  which  to  all  appearance  is  so  full  of  promise.  Let 
those  who  propose  doing  anything  do  something  now. 
Sums  so  given  may  not  be  as  large  as  it  is  desirable  to 
make  them.  More  may  easily  be  given  later.  Let 
those  who  can  vote  an  appropriation,  or  those  who  can 
hand  over  a  cash  amount  without  much  personal  incon- 
venience, or  with  a  considerable  degree  of  satisfaction  to 
themselves,  do  so  without  delay. 

The  funds  thus  received  will  not  be  devoted  to  the 
promotion  of  ecclesiastical  pauperism.  Under  the  bless- 
ing of  God  they  will  go  to  help  those  who  are  helping 
themselves.  Our  Church  colonists  in  Canada  provide 
the  land,  erect  the  buildings,  encourage  emigration,  or- 
ganize activities — and  we  simply  step  to  their  side  and 
say :  "  Brethren,  we  will  give  you  whatever  you,  well- 
nigh  submerged  in  early  settlers'  struggles,  cannot  aiford, 
roofing,  hardware,  furniture  and  the  like;  we  will  see 
to  it  that  for  a  year  or  two,  at  least,  the  pastor  sent  you 
will  be  assured  a  suitable  salary;  we  will  place  in  his 
possession  the  means  he  may  require  to  traverse  this 
field  of  labor,  and  to  serve  the  membership." 

It  is  for  the  Moravian  Church  to  indicate  whether 
this  shall  be  done ;  and  to  determine  whether  it  shall 
be  done  immediately,  enthusiastically,  and  thoroughly. 
The  case  is  fully  before  the  Church.  Either  let  there 
be  a  silence  that  may  be  felt,,or  let  there  be  a  ringing 
response,  sharp  and  strong,  swift  and  sweet.  The  people 
are  the  pilot.     Let  the  signal  be :  "  Go  ahead  I " 


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33 

The  Provincial  Elders'  Conferenoe  requests  that  all 
gifts  for  Bruederfeld  and  Bruederheim  may  be  sent  to 
the  Rev.  Robert  de  Schweinitz,  Treasurer,  Bethlehem, 

Pa. 

*  *     '       *  «  *  « 

It  only  remains  to  announce  the  fact  that  the  Rev. 
Clement  Hoyler  has  accepted  appointment  as  pastor  of 
the  congregations  at  Bruederfeld  and  Bruederheim. 
Severing  his  pastoral  relations  at  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  on 
January  12,  he  will  be  in  full  charge  of  the  Alberta 
work  by  the  middle  of  February,  1896.  In  this  new 
and  wide  field  of  activity,  Bro.  Andrew  Lilge,  licensed 
to  preach,  will  serve  as  pastor's  assistant. 


I'  I 


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